Needing to pull off a captivating home comeback to keep their Champions League dream alive, Ferencvaros host Danish giants FC Midtjylland in Budapest on Tuesday evening. The Hungarian powerhouses fell to a 2-0 loss in the first leg of their qualifying third-round battle, and failure to turn the tide in their favour will see them relegated to the Europa League. © Imago A 7-1 aggregate crushing of Welsh titans The New Saints - where a 5-0 home thrashing preceded a 2-1 away success - was not a sign of things to come from Ferencvaros in Champions League qualifying, as Midtjylland proved a class above in Scandinavia last week.
Strikes either side of the half-time whistle from experienced Polish striker Adam Buksa and Franculino propelled Midtjylland to a straightforward two-goal success on August 6, one which leaves Ferencvaros' UCL hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads. However, the reigning Hungarian champions responded to their European setback with a 2-0 win of their own on Saturday, easing past the challenge of Diosgyor in top-flight action to make it two for two in the 2024-25 campaign, although they are being kept off the top of the table by MTK Budapest and their superior goal difference. Frequent competitors in European competitions during the 21st century, Ferencvaros - who are now under the tutelage of Pascal Jansen - memorably competed in the group phase of the 2020-21 Champions League, although the Barcelona, Juventus and Dynamo Kiev-sized obstacles proved too dif.